AusBonsai

Sorry Melaleuca but there is no Podocarpus page??

Last year some Red-browed Finches were nesting in this tree I planted 13 years ago so left removing it another year. It now sits in a humongous pot with a butt about 190mm diameter and has been shortened from 3 meteres to 850mm-ish. Tomorrow I will start to sort out issues including very temporarily tied down limbs.


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Put it back in the ground

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terry.muller2 wrote:Put it back in the ground

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Why put it back in the ground now?

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terry.muller2 wrote:Put it back in the ground

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Now that is a useful post
Just a single comment with no context surrounding it. why bother? I was looking for the easter egg / embedded spam


Nice size trunk base FF, What are the plans?

Ken

Cheers Ken
Yes it has a nice 190mm base. Given the recent discussion on bonsai style I have been trying to think past a 'traditional' informal upright. I have grown Brown Pines in reveg projects before but have only ever seen one magnificent specimen in the wild on the Cambridge Plateau near Mallanganee in northern NSW. They grow into a conifer shape and the slowly twisting bark is a nice feature.
One unforseen problem effecting the style is a thick branch up the top that has been cut short and now jinned. I would have preferred to avoid this feature. The other issue that I am wondering about is the awkward varying branch thickness. I'm still on my Learners so any advice welcome I'll update with a picture later when the rain stops falling.



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terry.muller2 wrote:Put it back in the ground

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That's odd. The text at the bottom indicates the same tablet was used to post using the same app too.
Perhaps u have a mini-me?

Rory wrote:

terry.muller2 wrote:Put it back in the ground

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That's odd. The text at the bottom indicates the same tablet was used to post using the same app too.
Perhaps u have a mini-me?

Nice pickup:-)
The sig implies it is a a "Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1", and they are quite common in the tablet space (Samsung have Approx 20% share) and android ( all vendors is @ 45%+)
that means 1 in 5 tablet users will have one of them. ( how many tablet users do we have)?

Re the branch differences, Prune the thicker ones and let the thin ones escape and they will soon even out. I would also wire them all.
Styling wise, I have some as street trees here and the branches leve the trunk pointing more upwards and then bend out and down. Depends largely on your own preferences and likes

Draw some sketches or do some virts and see what you think.

Ken

Hey FF, A non-bonsai question, I have tried growing big versions of these on my property and they always slowly die. What sort of soil do you have at you place?
Cheers,
Symon

This one grew in acid red clay soil at about 900m in forest clearing situation so plenty of life in soil. Also seen them growing well at Hervey Bay in very sandy soils. I usually make sure they are well mulched to a minimum of 1m radius to keep competition at bay as they aren't a rampant grower.

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Thanks FF. I'm west of Coffs and acidic red clay is exactly what I have. I just need to try harder. Good luck with the tree, it looks like a monster.

Cheers,
Symon

Photos please Ken. We need to see.

The "Put it back in the ground" post may have been referring to the column-like trunk - a few years in the ground would give you a tapering continuation of the trunk, greater thickness overall, and maybe the chance to use some low branches as sacrifice branches (grow them long and thick) to thicken the low part, again for better taper.

I have a couple of small ones - they don't seem to grow quickly in the pot, so ground-growing could be a good option generally.

Gavin

GavinG wrote:Photos please Ken. We need to see.

The "Put it back in the ground" post may have been referring to the column-like trunk - a few years in the ground would give you a tapering continuation of the trunk, greater thickness overall, and maybe the chance to use some low branches as sacrifice branches (grow them long and thick) to thicken the low part, again for better taper.

I have a couple of small ones - they don't seem to grow quickly in the pot, so ground-growing could be a good option generally.

Gavin

I also wondered if that was driving the comment but the tree does have some taper GavinG. Improving the taper and ramification can still occur in the new large pot it is in. Anyway I shortened the thick limbs to redirect growth and left some thinner branches longer until such time as new shoots appear. Due to the lack of materials or a nearby bonsai shop I resorted to using materials at hand such as electrical wire and fencing wire to form rigging to pull down on branches and hold them in place. Pretty tricky without a second set of hands. When the bonsai wire turns up I will wire the trees very stiff branches. One remaining issue is what to do with the heavy branch next to new leader? Although the tree will take some time to improve I think it is a worthy subject to work with.


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Got some photos today to show

This is in front of my Neighours house as it is sparser than mine and can see the structure better the biggest and denser foliage The smaller one outside my house. Note that they all split into multiple trunks and the trunks all stay vertical close to each other
Many of the branches leave the trunk at about 30deg and then move down then the tips head vertical again.
Many others leave at 90 deg to the trunks and then Move up at the tips as well.

Seems to me that with these, they cold be styled with vertical / upward sloping branches, or ones that leave horizontal and in both cases could be termed "Naturalistic"
The foliage could be sparse and open, or dense clumps too.

Whatever takes your fancy

Ken

Thanks Ken. There's no substitute for seeing. There are some lovely sweeping rising black lines in that last photo. No idea how to translate that into bonsai, I'll show you how I went in 20 years or so.

Gavin

GavinG wrote:Thanks Ken. There's no substitute for seeing. There are some lovely sweeping rising black lines in that last photo. No idea how to translate that into bonsai, I'll show you how I went in 20 years or so.

Gavin

I will be waiting patiently for the updates

ken